Christchurch Man’s 16,000-Mile Car Trip

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28130, 20 November 1956, Page 7

Christchurch Man’s 16,000-Mile Car Trip

Air A. S. Morgan, who was a memtor of the Canterbury climbing ex--edition which last year went to Mount Masherbrum. in the Karakoram Himalaras, has returned to Christchurch jfler motoring 12,000 miles overland from London to Colombo in about tjree months, and another 4000 miles Fremantle to Sydney. One of the most difficult sections o f the long journey for Mr Morgan and his companion was the trip across India, where they encountered monsoon conditions. They were in India for five to six weeks travelling 3000 to 4000 miles. In some places they had to rail their English 1955 model car to negotiate swollen rivers, and elsewhere they used river ferries. At Jaipur road on the east coast they waited five days for a railway waggon to take their car, but during their wait they visited a rich ore mine where primitive mining methods were employed. To break up the ore fires I ut over the deposits were extinguished , with water resulting in the fracture I of the material which was then broken ■ np with crowbars. Jaipur road was | the railhead for the mine. The motorists had to contend with | native bullock waggon traffic which recognised no traffic regulations For I 1000 th . e New Zealanders travelled through heavy rain storms | with a broken windscreen, damaged . when a load carried on a cyclist’s I back dropped on to the bonnet of j their car. Lack of precise informa- ■ tion about river and road conditions j also complicated matters. I Delhi. Agra, and Benares were on , the route of the travellers. At Benares. Mr Morgan made an early tnorn- , Ing boat trip on the Ganges to see the | faithful bathing in the river and i funeral pyres being built along its | banks.

Crossing the Indus I To cross the flooded Indus in Pakis-

( tan the motorists spent three hours , on a paddle steamer which travelled , up and down the river feeling its way j from one channel to another. Boy

, swimmers were sent out from the | ferry to locate the ever-changing sand- , banks and guide the vessel on its wav I Sometimes the bovs had to remain on I the sandbanks till the ferry returned j Mr Morgan said th,ey felt some apI prehension for the safety of the swimI piers when the captain remarked that j on the last trip he had seen an exi tremely large alligator.

In Lahore, the travellers spent a few’ days in the pleasant surroundings of the Punjab Club, which has only English members. To Mr Morgan it was “one of the last outposts of the English occupation of the country.” On their way to Cevlon the motorists travelled through France. Switzerland. Italy. Jugoslavia. Greece. Turkey Syria. Jordan. Iraq. Persia, Pakistan, and India. Everywhere along the route the people were friendly and eager to help the travellers.

As they waited in a lay-by off a very busy main traffic route into Istanbul in Turkey to take stock of their position, he said that they had been surprised to hear a very English voice at the window inquiring: “Can I help you” This man was able to give them directions to their hotel in Istanbul. When they had difficulty finding their way in Zagreb in Jugoslavia a person, who had evidently spent a great deal of time in England, appeared from nowhere to help them on their way.

At the Syrian border thev en bit e^Arlh 1 f e i flrst exanl ple of the Eni « f . e ohng towards the Jews, to obtain°? Cla i S a ‘ the frontier sought u j an admission from the New IsTa P ?nr had Visls to was not to travel there. Israel I. their route but had they said that h f h an admission Mr Morgan vMf, a 1 u C was n ° doubt their been countries would have offlciafs asked 1 As a P? r «ng shot the obiiterated k ?n to see their maps and them * d th name of Israel from . Friendly Greeks i=£i n f lnto Greece the New Zeac nt?I 5 fc ' und that the Greek people, friend! y tO j expectations, were very friendly and helpful and they heard ab ° Ut the trouble m Cyprus T? °. ne of the most attractive countries in Europe from a seenic pointl ofview, said Mr Morgan* but e J?+L n hl S. hwa ys vere very good, °S* he main routes the roads were h7ffiJ hCre ( ? VaS not a * reat d eal of traffic on the roads and for children Jne passing of a foreign car seemed tO m e i an event of some importance. Turkey seemed to be one of the most progressive of the Middle East countries, said Mr Morgan. Six-lane highways were being built into Istanbul. In northern Turkey the country r-i look much different from ferf ll % hI JJ c . ountr y in parts of New Zealand - p rain crops extended over great stretches of undulating country and tney saw modern header harvesters and tractors working. In Syria Mr Morgan met a geologist working under the auspices of the United Nations. He was engaged on a search for water. At the geologist’s suggestion they attended a garden party at the British Embassy in Damascus in honour of the Queen’s Birthday.

At Rutbah. in Iraq, the New Zealanders met an Englishman who was the English representative on the oil consortium in Teheran. With him they motored to Bagdad and then to Teheran to spend a week as his guest. Persian Holidays Mr Morgan said they were told that a public holiday was proclaimed in Persia when the former Prime Minister. Mr Mussadiq. came to power and another holiday was observed when he was deposed. Now the Persians celebrate both holidays. From Teheran, the New Zealanders travelled east to Meshed, then took a route parallel to the Afghan border to Zahidan on to Quetta in Pakistan. This journey over a desert was the hottest and ,driest of the whole trip. They rested during the day and travelled in the early morning. At the Pakistan frontier, temperatures were up to 120 degrees.

The travellers had no punctures on the whole journey. Before returning to New Zealand. Mr Morgan worked in London for five months. He also travelled in England. Scotland and Wales, and in Wales he did a little rock climbing. He also scent a ski-ing holiday in the Austrian Tyrol.